Two owners & one tradition

2015The owner families then and now

In 1781, the same year in which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart left his hometown for Vienna, the young tenor Giuseppe Tomaselli came to Salzburg from Milan. This turned out to be a stroke of fortune not only for the Prince-Archbishop’s court chapel, which Tomaselli joined, but also for enthusiasts of coffee house culture. Tomaselli’s son Carl learnt the trade of confectionery and in 1852 bought the Café Staiger on the Alter Markt, which was very popular and well known far beyond Salzburg’s borders. And so began, more than 160 years ago, the era of the Tomaselli family as coffee house owners, an era which continues to this day.

A melange of two strong Salzburg families

Since 1950, two families from the Tomaselli dynasty have run the café. Today, the company belongs equally to two direct descendants of Carl Tomaselli: emeritus Salzburg lawyer and qualified forest manager Dipl. Ing. Dr Christoph Aigner, and visceral and thoracic surgeon Univ. Doz. Dr Florian Tomaselli. So how come two families are in charge of the company? In1950, Olga Tomaselli (whose husband Otto had died in 1925) was given back the Café after its expropriation by American occupying forces, and passed the company on to her children

Dipl.-Kfm. Karl Tomaselli and Elisabeth, known as Lisl. Since that time there have always been two partners in the Tomaselli business: they belong together like the coffee and milk foam in a good “melange” (a speciality coffee similar to a cappuccino). The siblings ran the Café together until 1991. Karl was responsible for the commercial side, while Elisabeth, under her married name of Aigner, looked after the day-to-day running of the business and its guests.

Family-run with heart and common sense

In 1991, Karl Tomaselli’s son, Dipl.-Vw. Karl-Heinz Tomaselli, and Elisabeth Aigner’s son, Dipl. Ing. Dr Christoph Aigner (* 12. July 1942), took over the company shares and management. Karl-Heinz Tomaselli’s wife, Doris Tomaselli, was authorised signatory and dedicated many years to taking care of company interests. Dr Christoph Aigner still owns half of the company, and is the fourth generation of his family to take the helm of the company. In 2011, he handed over management to his wife Elisabeth Aigner (* 11. August 1965), who plays an important role in the family dynasty. She visits the Café daily to make sure that everything is running smoothly and to look after the regular guests, who include many respected Salzburg families. Karl-Heinz Tomaselli handed over his company share and management to his son,

Univ. Doz. Dr Florian Tomaselli (* 21. June 1965) in September 2011. Florian is thus the fifth generation of his family to run the Café and manages to balance this position with his main occupation. Medicine has been his passion for a long time. Tomaselli specialises in thoracic surgery and is the Deputy Department Head of Surgery at the Elisabethinen Hospital in Linz. At the same time he is also very committed to the Café in Salzburg, and regards it as a great challenge to lead this traditional company into the future together with Dr Christoph and Elisabeth Aigner. Managing directors Dr Florian Tomaselli and Elisabeth Aigner passed the licensing examination when they took over in 2011, and continually strive to further develop the company.